Rylan wrote:Is it just me or has story in video games really gotten stale/down right terrible the last few years? Maybe I am getting tired of video games or something, but very few games have a plot worth going through anymore.

That's a pretty good observation. I played a number of really good games lately that had a stupid ending. That includes the first Borderlands.

Stories in games are becoming crap because companies focus less on the single player campaign, and more on multiplayer and online.

It's probably smart on their part to be honest because that's where gaming has been and will be going for the foreseeable future I guess. I'm more of a campaign guy as I don't play online all that much, but I realize I am in the vast minority there, and most people pick up the A+ titles for the online/multiplayer mode.

eddysnake wrote:Canaan, how is the Wii U experience now that you've had it for a bit?

still digging it pretty hard. game selection is lacking, but its a launch, so i figured that. SMB was pretty rad. im running through nintendoland right now. the netflix is solid. especially given that you can bounce back and forth between the console and the gamepad so if the young'ns are hogging up the television, you can zap it to the game pad and switch the channel without a glitch. the mii universe social network thing is pretty cool but i havent dug too deep into that.

i'd recommend it as a family console, but with way more independent gaming (and increased standard gaming controls) then the original wii. hopefully santa brings me a pro controller for xmas.

eddysnake wrote:Canaan, how is the Wii U experience now that you've had it for a bit?

still digging it pretty hard. game selection is lacking, but its a launch, so i figured that. SMB was pretty rad. im running through nintendoland right now. the netflix is solid. especially given that you can bounce back and forth between the console and the gamepad so if the young'ns are hogging up the television, you can zap it to the game pad and switch the channel without a glitch. the mii universe social network thing is pretty cool but i havent dug too deep into that.

i'd recommend it as a family console, but with way more independent gaming (and increased standard gaming controls) then the original wii. hopefully santa brings me a pro controller for xmas.

cool, thanks. I'm hoping Santa might bring me one. How is the virtual console on this thing? How does the HD graphics look for nintendo?

SolidSnake wrote:Even though most people hate it, LA Noire is my all time fav game, story wise as well.

Really? Most people hate it? I thought it was somewhat flawed in its mechanics (and insanely easy at times), but overall I loved the game and thought the story was exceptional.

Rylan wrote:Is it just me or has story in video games really gotten stale/down right terrible the last few years? Maybe I am getting tired of video games or something, but very few games have a plot worth going through anymore.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, I would tend to agree with you. I'm currently playing Medal of Honor Warfighter, which has gotten lambasted in some outlets as glorifying violence - and those who mete it out while wearing a uniform - and being pretentious in its story. I'm not that far in, but I couldn't disagree more.

The game heaps no more glory on warfighters than, oh, every single other military-based shooter. But MOHW actually tries to show the personal sacrifices these men make. One character from the first game appears only in silhouette behind the action at a desk, eventually revealing that since the events of MOH he has lost a leg. One of the two main characters you play is trying to balance a tumultuous marriage/separation, which is a toll I've not seen other games really dwell on in this level of detail.

Contrast that with the feigned morality play in "Modern Warfare 2" 'No Russian' level. For all the hullabaloo, that level fell completely flat. It was nothing more than gratuitous carnage. Why? As Bruce Lee might have said, it needed 'emotional content'. It is not sufficient to simply drop a playing character into a commercial airport and have him and his three buddies begin mowing down civilians. There is absolutely no connection between you (the player) and the character you are controlling at that stage of the game. You play, literally, two levels, get whisked off to some super secret task force, and by the time the load screen finishes, you've emerged months later and deep under cover right next to the main bad guy in the series. But you don't assassinate him (which would have made for a frightfully short game), you just walk along behind him, shooting at air travelers. There's no investment in your character's story, there's no inner conflict. It's just.... shooting. A completely useless - and ultimately frustrating - scene. And that is why it was offensive - because it didn't present the carnage in a morally ambiguous way. It just said "Here you go".

This was really cool. Morrowind and the White Gold Tower are tucked away in Skyrim.It's awesome they put in details like this even though it's unlikely you will ever see it. I did come across the gate to Morrowind the other day, and that just screamed, "future dlc" to me.

I got LA Noire for Christmas last year and didn't have the time to finish it, but I thought it was pretty great. I love the era it's set in. Seems like the holidays are the only time I have to sit down and play for any length of time, maybe I'll get back at it this year. I have a lot of games like that.

eddysnake wrote:Canaan, how is the Wii U experience now that you've had it for a bit?

still digging it pretty hard. game selection is lacking, but its a launch, so i figured that. SMB was pretty rad. im running through nintendoland right now. the netflix is solid. especially given that you can bounce back and forth between the console and the gamepad so if the young'ns are hogging up the television, you can zap it to the game pad and switch the channel without a glitch. the mii universe social network thing is pretty cool but i havent dug too deep into that.

i'd recommend it as a family console, but with way more independent gaming (and increased standard gaming controls) then the original wii. hopefully santa brings me a pro controller for xmas.

cool, thanks. I'm hoping Santa might bring me one. How is the virtual console on this thing? How does the HD graphics look for nintendo?

i havent played anything other than the wiiU games, but i have a letter written to santa to get a string of wiiU credits and the best of wii games and will report back if ive been a nice guy this year.

Finally finished Lego Star Wars III this week. Game wasn't as bad as I originally thought, just had to get used to it. But still towards the bottom of the lego game experience.

I was going to start Metroid Other M, but had a new baby last week, so she is taking up a lot of time. So I just picked up Lego Batman 2 to kill some time since it is easier to just stop and save at any time and it's not as time intensive.

Glad to see the WiiU is actually somewhat decent. I'm probably going to hold off a year or so to pick one up once they luanch more games and the price comes down and bugs are worked out, but at least it's decent.